


The Room with Blue Curtains: An Analysis

by kurofu



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Analysis, Drabble, I made it real, Literary Analysis, M/M, Meta, informal narration, now it's a challenge, this started as a joke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27168796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurofu/pseuds/kurofu
Summary: A literary analysis of a fiction that does not exist. At least, not yet.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16
Collections: Enabled and Approved at the Wholesome Place





	The Room with Blue Curtains: An Analysis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SolAnise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SolAnise/gifts).



> For Professor Reign.
> 
> Beta'd by Grammarly lmao

In _The Room with Blue Curtains_ , the author used the colour blue to imply the mental state of Tom Riddle, the main character of the snippet. The setting of the snippet is situated in a Victorian drawing room that has two notable floor-to-ceiling windows. On those windows, the tall curtains of the room are described to be of rich texture and velvet-heavy, the fabric colour of which is a dark navy blue. Even though the audience rarely gets to see Tom in this setting, it is heavily implied that the drawing-room is the most-used room in the house. Evidence of this can be found in the half-full inkwell on a scratched and weathered oak desk, the well-worn and thinning fuzz of the purple velvet on the seat of the desk chair, as well as the faded titles on the spine of books that line the walls. As such, the drawing-room symbolizes the heart, the mind, and, in essence, the soul of Tom Riddle. 

The colour blue has many definitions that pertain to the character Tom Riddle. One of the most basic is ‘calm, cool, and collected,’ a testament to the characterization of Tom. Another general definition of the colour is ‘security,’ meaning confidence, reliability, and trust-worthiness—although only two of those traits can apply to the character. Additionally, different shades of blue can provide more meanings. As the colour of the curtains in the drawing-room is navy blue, a dark colour, it symbolizes power and knowledge, the very things Tom Riddle wants. Throughout the snippet, the fabric colour does not change, therefore the audience knows that his motives are still the same. 

Curtains play a role in the symbolism of the snippet. The function of a curtain is to hang from a window and block light from the outside. If the drawing-room is, as stated above, the soul of Tom Riddle, then the blue curtains are the shields that prevent anything from altering or influencing it. The curtains have done their duty for many years, always closed, as shown by the descriptions of layers of dust that can be found in the drawing-room. With the curtains shut, the drawing-room is always plunged into a dark, dreary atmosphere—always cold—regardless of the candles and gas lights that dot the room. Because of this, Tom’s stone-hearted personality and inclinations towards the Dark can be seen as an inevitable outcome. However, once the character Harry Potter was introduced, Tom Riddle began to change. His once-dismal room—his soul—began to brighten. The more Tom interacted with Harry, the more the interior of the drawing-room saw light, and by the end of the snippet, the two heavy blue curtains were pulled aside to fully expose the entire room to the bright sun. With the windows unhindered, the drawing-room was displayed in full glory, displaying the beautiful furniture and décor that used to hide behind shadows. Essentially, Tom Riddle had opened up his mind, his entire being, to Harry Potter who coaxed and pried out the ‘human’ from unyielding stone.

**Author's Note:**

> This came from a joke about writing analysis essays for English classes. More specifically: "What did the author intend to imply about the scene through the use of blue curtains?" 
> 
> And I wrote it. A 500-word mini-analysis on the use of blue curtains in a nonexistent snippet. 
> 
> And thus a challenge was born. Using this analysis, write a snippet about the story between the two (or three if you consider Tom and Voldemort as separate people).


End file.
